Congratulations to all winners of the 16th International Beethoven Piano Competition!
Aris Alexander Blettenberg
1. Place
The 27-year-old German pianist Aris Alexander Blettenberg emerges as the winner of the 16th International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna. He convinced the jury with his performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in D major op 15 and thus prevailed over Dasol Kim and Philipp Scheucher in the final on 21 October 2021 in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein. Blettenberg will receive a Bösendorfer concert grand piano model 200 as well as € 10,000 in prize money donated by the RPR Private Foundation.
Aris Alexander Blettenberg was born in 1994 in Mühlheim an der Ruhr. He received his music education at the University of Music and Theatre in Munich and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is currently studying in Hanover. Blettenberg appears as a pianist, conductor and composer, and has already performed in renowned European concert halls such as the Wigmore Hall London, the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam.
2. Place ex aequo
The Austrian Philipp Scheucher and Dasol Kim from South Korea were awarded 2nd prize ex aequo and receive a prize of 6000 € each, one donated by Jasminka Stančul-Cernko and Willibald Cernko, the other as the Rita Medjimorec Memorial Prize donated by Heinz Medjimorec.
Philipp Scheucher
Wether in the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein or the Gewandhaus in Leipzig - Philipp Scheucher has already played in concert halls whose podiums rank among the most important in Europe. Already at the age of twelve, Philipp Scheucher performed with his teacher Markus Schirmer at the Vienna Musikverein. From him, he received his pianistic fine-tuning at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, where he already received important impulses for his musical education at the age of ten as a young student with Maria Zgubic. Scheucher is currently receiving further inspiration from Ilja Scheps at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. He active collaborates with renowned conductors and orchestras, such as the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Dirk Kaftan, the Great Orchestra Graz "recreation" under Michael Hofstetter and Mei-Ann Chen, the K&K Philharmonic Orchestra or the WDR Radio House Orchestra under Alexander Prior.
Dasol Kim
Dasol Kim was already soloist with some of the world's finest orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, under renowned conductors such as Michael Sanderling, Alan Gilbert and Myung-Whun Chung. In 2015, his debut recording was released on Deutsche Grammophon. His musical development has been influenced by Gerald Fauth and Arie Vardi. Concert engagements take him to the USA, Europe and Asia.
More Winners
Rachel Breen (4th prize), Maximilian Kromer (5th prize) and Yeon-Min Park (6th prize) each receive € 2000 donated by the RPR Private Foundation. The Molly Joó-Máthé Special Prize (1200 €) for the youngest participant of the competition who does not reach the final is awarded to Viktor Soos. Philipp Scheucher receives the Klemens Kramert Special Prize (1500 €) for the best placed participant from Austria.
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